1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for managing, supporting and empowering Independent Agents to offer a method for enabling expert Service Providers to deliver, and charge for, advice to consumers, by connecting two parties in real time. Further, the present invention provides the method and techniques for expert Service Providers, in turn, to provide their service through a multiplicity of Independent Agent channels without potential communication device conflict for consumers.
2. Description of Prior Art
Advice services are currently offered through a variety of methods and techniques utilizing the telephone and/or the Internet. A consumer seeking advice on any number of various topics can search in a telephone book's yellow pages, for example, and make a basic telephone call. But advice service providers are not able to effectively or efficiently charge time-based fees for their service in this model, nor are consumers guaranteed that the service provider will be available. Further, Internet searching is steadily replacing traditional yellow pages searches by consumers.
1-900 phone systems do enable service providers to charge for their services on a time-elapsed model. However, 1-900 systems also are not able to take advantage of the massive trend of consumers increasingly using the Internet to search for what they want and need, including advice on various topics. Further, single 1-900 numbers have restricted scope and flexibility with regard to service and price, as well as limited consumer trust with regards to billing and quality of service provided.
Currently, there are systems available that facilitate the delivery of advice to consumers in real-time via the Internet utilizing telecommunications systems. However, such systems have created such a massive directory with thousands upon thousands of individual listings in any given category that it has become overwhelming for consumers to determine their choice. Likewise, it has become near impossible for the large majority of individual service providers to attract any interested consumers, as the rigid nature of the directory listing system allows extremely limited opportunities for a particular service provider to differentiate their service among the thousands of others in the same list.
Consequently, there is a need for a system to enable the provision of advice service through both the Internet and telecommunications that can overcome all of the limitations described above. Such a system, which empowers and utilizes independent Agents within its inventive framework and creative methods, is hereinafter described.